With the rapid industrialization of the world we are currently at a stalemate, with the rapidly depleting supply of resources and the growing demand, we must either come up with new methods or risk the loss of those resources altogether. In order to address these issues, the BlueGreen Alliance was formed. The BlueGreen Alliance is the unlikely partnership of The United Steel Workers Union and the environmentalist group Sierra Club, working together in order “to build a cleaner and fairer economy”. The normally opposing organizations are collaborating to improve “environmental policy and expand the number of and quality of jobs in the green economy.” Since the BlueGreen Alliance may be the first major collaborative group working to tackle these issues their effectiveness in comparison to other options has not been evaluated. In this paper we will look at the ties between economical and environmental problems, what the BlueGreen Alliance has accomplished, and other alternatives before determining the best course of action to build a cleaner and fairer economy. The BlueGreen Alliance is not a partnership of convenience, but a partnership that works towards spreading awareness about the issues we face when tasked with creating good jobs while also maintaining a safe environment. Most successful businesses are able to contribute their success to three important factors, limits, interdependence, and equity. Limits refer to the reality in which we do not have unlimited economic
The BlueGreen Alliance focuses on the immediate need to develop commonsense solutions to our environmental challenges in a way that creates and maintains quality, family-sustaining jobs across the economy. BlueGreen works to educate, performs research and design public policies, facilitate dialogue between environmentalists and union members about the economic and environmental impact
Lester Browns Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization is one of a few books published that reveals in depth planning to ecological sustainability. Lester Brown is the President of a non-profit research organization titled “Earth Policy Institute,” which he founded in May of 2001. Mr. Brown has developed a four step plan to make the Earth a cleaner and better place. Throughout this paper we will be weighing the pros and cons of Lester Browns four step plan. Lester Brown’s plan has lots of upside but remember; nothing is free, everything produced has an opportunity cost. Mr. Brown is an intelligent human being, but fails to recognize the damage that can be made in producing “environmental-friendly” objects such as electric cars and windmills. It is also important to understand that every plan created for achieving ecological sustainability will have tremendous downsides. It is a good start, but humans are still decades, maybe even centuries away from creating the correct plan to achieve ecological sustainability. To understand the entirety of Lester Brown’s plan, you must break down each step individually. It is also important to comprehend that Lester’s results from each step could very well be correct but the process of each could do more harm than good.
The Sierra Club's influence on modern environmentalism The Sierra Club is the nation's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization(Sierra Club 1). The Sierra Club was founded by conservationist John Muir in 1892(Sierra Club 1). The Sierra Club had lots of people, with about 2.4 members, so they had enough resources to make a big impact in things like uranium mining, and habitat protection.
I have often heard the excuse that it would cost too much for cooperations to clean up after themselves, that the expenditure would lead to extensive layoffs, and would be detrimental to the economy of the corporation. In a way I could understand how this could be true and didn’t see a solution to the problem. I thought that it was either/or; one thing or the other. On page 297 it says that “An alliance between environmentalists and labor organizers is essential. People need a livelihood as well as good environmental conditions, and the two are not mutually exclusive.” Exclusivity is a boundary that I think we all need to cross. Too often we forget that everything is linked and that one thing effects another. This can be applied to our everyday lives as
earths wildlife and lands. Around the 1960s, the government wanted to build dams in the Grand
Over the past couple of years, countries and companies alike have taken the steps to ensure their citizens or employees are living an economically friendly lifestyle. This can be achieved by recycling programs, motion activated lights, and producing products with sustainable materials that do no harm to the trees or atmosphere. While countries like the United States and those in Western Europe have the capabilities to achieve this with advanced technology, education, and funds, the more poor countries of Earth still have to surrender themselves to unethical solutions. It is not only businesses in these regions that make these crucial decisions, but the government as a whole. A current example is the Nicaragua Grand Canal that is deciding to
The author successfully incorporates many environmental initiatives and efforts into a comprehensive plan for moving forward. She embraces and encourages these efforts, but argues they are just placing more Band-Aids on a leaky pipe, rather than dealing with the problem at hand, they are just not big or powerful enough. Rather, Leonard asserts there must be a civic engagement part to bring the accountability and responsibility back to the government and corporations (175). Leonard makes a great point, but
The system is supposed to enhance its internal practices to reducing greenhouse gas, and they will be increasing recycling processes. More importantly, it will also create strict guidelines for JPMorgan Chase's lending decisions when it comes to The mining, forestry, oil, and gas industries it will no longer finance projects that pose a danger to the environment It has also decided to encourage clients to design plans to try and reduce the large amounts of greenhouse gasses to help the environment. The modifications come from years of the hard word by the Stakeholders as well as some other groups that included nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), investors, and activists. Stakeholders, including NGOs, investors, and activists, as well as communities, labor, and consumers all, played a significant role in improving corporate behavior. Some NGOs are willing to put themselves in danger by using strategies of conflict. Others have been working to create partnerships with companies to help them green their production, often in ways that save them money. As well, the investor community is taking a progressively active role in work with the companies in the hopes of creating a partnerships with businesses in order to help them green their production, which often save them money on the long term outlook. Some of the investor community is taking an active role as well encouraging corporations to consider the long-term financial risks of social and environmental issues rather than the next quarter's
The group attracts members from all over the world. Individuals who choose to be apart of the Sierra Club are individuals who are environmentally conscious, and want to make a difference in the environment. They are tree-huggers, nature lovers, and environmentalists. Recently, the organization has advocated to get rid of fossil fuels in favor of moving toward “a clean energy economy.” Their progress on achieving this is demonstrated through statistics, the organization has helped to retire approximately 200 coal plants. They are currently also addressing climate change, and also fracking and tar
The industrial revolution in the 1800s enhanced the lives of the American citizens. No longer were cultivation and farming a chief concern; instead, manufacturing and machinery were the major improvements of that time. Still today, big corporations are looking for the next big thing that could aid citizens in their everyday lives. What is often ignored, however, are the environmental factors that are being affected by the decisions made by these industries. Harmful acid rain, smog, and buried nuclear wastes diseased the Northern continent where some places were deemed uninhabitable to the public because of the threatening health risks. Environmental laws and agencies were then created in the 1970s to shift the impact that corporations have on the environment. The unchecked power that big corporations have exhausted has enhanced the decline of environmental stability and initiated many territorial restrictions due to the careless actions of the company.
The United States is the world 's driving maker of oil and regular gas, and accordingly of more prominent utilization of clean-smoldering characteristic gas and cleaner, more proficient energizes, we are additionally a world pioneer in decreasing carbon outflows and other air contaminations. We have a demonstrated model for accomplishing ecological advance without giving up occupations, financial development, vitality security or customer moderateness. Our political initiative has the chance to proceed, and develop, the American vitality upset.
One positive implication capitalism has to the natural environment is industrial ecology, a system of chain production and consumption, serving to the lowest environmental impacts in a most environmentally sustainable economy as the main goal of operation (Richards & Pearson, 1998). The Companies in a like to operate in such way because of four major reasons. The most important factor is known as the corporate well-being, for it is determined by higher profits and growth provided by innovations in an industry. Profits are increased from recognizing the production ineffiency costs that comes from wasted inputs and energy losses; this allowing cost savings to increase and ineffiency to decrease. compliance with cleaner technology alternatives such as ones that produce less waste and less energy will provide long term savings which are both beneficial to the environment and the business at hand. A real world example freight company changes their salvaged driving equipment to hybrid vehicles. Money is temporarily lost, but the gasoline and maintenances cost savings will compensate in a long run period of time.
The economy today runs on an antiquated ritual of exploiting, plundering, devastation, and manipulation of land for material wealth, profiting the wealthy and condemning the poor. This mindset is no more sophisticated than feudalism, a system so bad it had to be outlawed along with witchcraft. The idea that exploitation of land is justified has brought plastics to the ocean and leveled rainforests. Large corporations have grown larger by manufacturing and production, depleting the planet’s resources in the process. Now, companies must make a combined effort to put the environment first, before profit. Because of their harmful practices, consumers have the right to know where products come from, how they’re made, and the impact on the environment. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the large corporations to change their harmful practices, to make strides towards ending climate change and use clean, sustainable methods.
Many firms are learning that being environmentally friendly and sustainable has numerous benefits. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). This could enable them to increase goodwill from various stakeholders and also save money in the long term. This will mean that they are being more efficient and less wasteful of resources, which will enable them to be more competitive by satisfying stakeholders. The CEO of
In a culture based on consumption and consumerism businesses are the forefront of society providing every good and service imaginable. Although, in today’s society there has been an increase in significant issues concerning the ecology of our planet that have come along with this consumer culture. With issues such a lack of clean water, lack of food, lack of energy and a rapid decline in biodiversity. This rapid decline in natural resources is due to mostly to the over consumption and alteration of the planet and its resources. Where do we start though in the process to protect and preserve our resources? It starts with the very businesses that we all buy from; a major part of our everyday lives and the largest consumers of resources businesses can play a large role in sustainability and climate action. Increasing pressure is being put on businesses to create a more sustainable society, this is being done through many business sustainable business efforts.